Though not quite as dramatic an event as it might first sound, Samsung has been handed a seven week deadline in order to prevent its multi-million selling Galaxy S II handset from being pulled from sale across Europe.
The ruling has been made by a Dutch court in The Hague, which has served a preliminary injunction against the sale of Samsung's Galaxy S and Ace branded handsets as a result of a complaint by Apple.
Owing to the belief Samsung uses the Netherlands as its logistical hub for the entire European market, this means 32 countries in all will be pulled into the injunction, including the likes of the UK, France and Germany.
Eye on Europe
Apple's complaint to the Dutch court was similar to the one recently served by the firm in Germany, but with the addition of three technical patents it's believed are tied to the Android platform in some form one of which is cited in this ruling.
As IP activist Florian Mueller points out on his blog Foss Patents, Samsung has plenty of time to react to the ruling itself made more than three weeks early but it nonetheless hands Apple its first solid victory against Android OEMs.
"In legal terms, the order does not bind Samsung's Korean parent company - only three different Samsung subsidiaries registered in the Netherlands - with respect to other countries than the Netherlands," Mueller states.
"However, it is my understanding that Samsung's European logistics use the Netherlands as the primary hub.
"If Samsung's Korean parent company wants to exercise its freedom to ship into other European countries despite this injunction, it will have to reorganise its logistics chain in Europe accordingly."
Action against Android
Whatever Samsung's reaction, it might not be the only manufacturer to suffer.
"Regardless of how Samsung may be able to work around this decision in Europe, it's a severe blow for Android," Mueller concludes.
"In all likelihood, the winning patent is infringed by Android itself - maybe not the operating system per se, but by one or more of the applications that ship with Android and without which the usefulness of Android would be impaired.
"Apple now has the first enforceable court decision in its hand that finds Android to infringe an Apple patent."
[source: Foss Patents]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Top Stories
News
Apr 27th, 2024
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Week in Views E09 - Supercell's Squad Busters goes global, Embracer Group splits, and Apple's Vision Pro flops
News
Apr 26th, 2024
Week in Views - Squads busted, Apple crushed, War zoned and Snoozin' with the Snorlax…
Feature
Apr 26th, 2024
Speaker Spotlight: Dubai Future Foundation's Faisal Kazim on leading Dubai's gaming charge
Events
Esports Future Summit | Middle East | Apr 27th |
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
The MENA Games Industry Awards 2024 | Middle East | May 2nd |
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th | |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
News
Apr 23rd, 2024
Supercell’s Squad Busters soft launches today with over 100,000 Google Play downloads
News
Apr 23rd, 2024